We see this trend amplified across our national job market. Over the past decade, jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have grown at a rate three times faster than non-STEM jobs. According to the Department of Commerce, that momentum will continue over the next decade as STEM jobs will grow at a staggering rate of 17 percent — compared with a projected 9.8 percent growth in other occupations.

But if we want to capitalize on this economic bright spot, it's time to expand the conversation we are having about STEM. Too often pigeonholed as the vehicle by which upper middle class students pursue PhD programs at MIT, STEM is also the tool a first-generation vocational student from Fall River uses to get a $50,000 per year advanced manufacturing job right after graduation or a student from Rensselaer, N.Y., uses to secure a good-paying job in upstate New York's fast growing nanotechnology industry.

In a time of slow recovery, decreased mobility and pervasive income inequality, STEM is not just the fuel our high-tech workforce requires. It is the best hope we have of creating what our fragile economy needs most: a sustainable supply of well-paid, middle-class jobs.

But before we can reap the benefits of a skilled workforce we must improve and invest in our efforts to reach populations historically underrepresented in this country's STEM pipeline: women, minorities and students from economically distressed communities.

In 2011, 26 percent of STEM workers were women and 74 percent were men. According to a 2011 report by the Department of Commerce, underrepresented minorities account for only 3 out of 10 professionals in STEM fields. Half of all STEM jobs are available to workers without a 4-year college degree, but the vast majority of federal funding is channeled into higher education institutions that students from economically distressed communities are priced out of from the start.

These statistics underscore a disconnect in our STEM efforts that — left unchecked — will throw a wrench in our economic future. By excluding critical segments of the American workforce from the STEM pipeline, we don't just hurt those individuals, their families and their communities — we leave a staggering amount of economic potential on the table. Global leadership in the 21st century requires all hands on deck. If we want to preserve this country's competitive edge, we need to increase points of access to STEM for underrepresented populations.

With that in mind, we were proud to introduce the STEM Gateways Act in Congress at the end of the year. The Gateways Act will create a grant program for elementary and secondary schools, community colleges, and partner organizations that support students from historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Grant funds can be used for classroom learning, career preparation, mentoring, internships, informal learning, and other relevant activities designed to encourage the interest and develop the skills that young women, underrepresented minorities, and students of all economic backgrounds will need to succeed in our country's STEM workforce.

Broadening our STEM efforts isn't just about jobs today and tomorrow. It's about leveraging the collective capacity of the American workforce to tackle our most pressing modern challenges, from renewable energy to medical research to cybersecurity.

If we don't keep the doors of opportunity wide open to students of all genders, ethnicities and backgrounds then we will collectively forfeit a huge portion of the talent that these next generation challenges demand.

At a time when our global leadership is being challenged on multiple fronts; when American students lag behind other developed nations in the skills required to support innovation industries — we cannot afford to leave that much potential untapped.

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., is a member of the House Committee on Science & Technology and serves as honorary chair of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council in Massachusetts. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is a New York Democrat.